


One Curious Thing

by Ryuutchi



Category: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers | Ronin Warriors
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Growing Up, High School, Post-Series, background Shuu/Shin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 07:38:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2804702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuutchi/pseuds/Ryuutchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One curious thing about growing up is that you don't only move forward in time; you move backwards as well, as pieces of your parents' and grandparents' lives come to you;<br/>or,<br/>No one stays eight forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Curious Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spoke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoke/gifts).



> I'm so sorry i couldn't work more Nasuti into this, Spoke. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

No one stays eight forever.

It wasn't intentional that Jun drifted away from the Troopers after all their adventures, and maybe it wasn't fair. But Jun wasn’t really one of them, not even after finding the Jewel of Life and gaining the power to destroy Arago forever. He loved them, his older brothers and his older sister-- how could he not, after everything they’d went through. They’d sacrificed so much-- and true, it was really that they’d been saving the world, but the parts Jun remembered most, with the selfish memory of a young child, were the times when they had sacrificed to keep him safe.

For some years he spent as much time as he could with them, visiting, playing games, enjoying having five dysfunctional brothers to teach him about the world. But it was perhaps inevitable that he would end up having his own life.

* * *

At thirteen, Jun still made plans with the Troopers. They were his big brothers, his favorite mentor figures. But school was creeping up on him fast, and middle school students had less time than a little kid to play around, if they wanted to get into a decent high school.

He learned how to keep his mouth shut-- his parents might humor him talking about how his big brothers were real life samurai, and that he had a magic stone with which he had helped kill a magical warlord who had tried to take over Japan, but anyone else? It might as well be standard _chuunibyou_ delusions. Keeping his mouth shut didn't mean he couldn't still have fun with them, though. And it was still studying if he could ask Touma to help him with the hard math problems! By which he meant, of course, playing baseball in Ueno Park.

"Touma-nii, you are never going to play professionally with a catch like that," he teased as Touma scrambled after a wild ball that bounced off a tree and into the depths of a bush. Touma made a rude sound, rummaging through the leaves for the ball. His butt stuck up, like some sort of wild blue duck, and Jun giggled, clapping his hands over his mouth when Touma turned to give him a half-hearted glare.

Finally coming back up for air with the ball triumphantly in his hand, Touma tossed it gently into Jun’s mitt. “Clearly,” he said, tone lofty, “none of the professional ball players are going to be as talented as you.”

Jun grinned and lobbed the ball at Touma’s head as hard as he could manage.

* * *

By the time he was fifteen, the events of Arago’s world would have seemed like a distant nightmare of childhood, if it weren't for the Jewel of Life he kept carefully tucked away in his desk drawer. He opened the drawer occasionally, touching the pearl and watching it glow-- just to remind himself that, no, it wasn't some dim hallucination that Ryou and the others played along with. When cram school and the looming specter of high school entrance exams became too much, he placed the thong around his neck and tucked the Jewel of Life under his shirt, wearing it the way he had when he was nine and it was still a matter of life and death. The rest of the time, he left it in his drawer, safely away from the mundane pressure of school and critical gaze of friends.

On the eve of his first high school entrance exam, Jun found himself nodding off over his textbook, study aids strewn around his bed when his mother knocked on the door, as she always had, once and then opening it . “Jun-kun, your father and I were thinking. How would you like to go to that restaurant you like in Chinatown? Maybe it will help your nerves before tomorrow,” she said. It wasn’t really a question, or if it was, it was the sort of question with only one expected answer.

Jun’s head shot up, and his textbook shot closed with a hard snap. “I’ll go get my coat!” He hopped off the bed, headless of the papers scattering as he went.

The “restaurant Jun liked” was one of a chain, but that didn’t matter as they parked and Jun went nearly dashing inside. It was the Shuu family restaurant chain, and the flagship store was the one Shuu always worked at. Almost always. Hopefully always. His mad run was caught up short by a hand grabbing the back of his collar, jerking him to a stop with a strangled “erk”.

“Who taught you to run like that? It’s impolite, you could have knocked someone over,” said the man with Jun firmly in his grip. Jun turned with a delighted grin. He would never mistake that soft, sardonic voice.

“You did, Shin-niichan,” Jun said. Forgetting his teenage dignity, he tossed his arms around Shin and hugged him. It was odd-- his arms wrapped around Shin’s chest instead of his waist, his chin against Shin’s shoulder instead of his stomach. But when Shin laughed and wrapped his arms around Jun in return, his felt safe. “You told me to run and keep running, right?”

Shin snorted a laugh, letting go and cuffing Jun above the ear. “Run away from the monsters, not run into the servers. I know I taught you better manners than that. It must have been Ryou or Shuu who taught you to go haring off in the wrong direction.” His easy smile faltered when Jun’s parents stepped into the restaurant-- since they didn’t remember anything of the time spent under Arago’s power, Jun’s friendship with the Shin and the others had always bewildered them. “Yamano-san,” he said politely, the smile sliding back on with practiced ease, “I know we can find a table for such good friends of the house.”

No sooner had they been seated than a boomed laugh rang out and Jun steeled himself for the bear hug that Shuu all but scooped him into. He let out an unmanly squeak, clutching at Shuu's shoulders. "Can't... breathe," he yelped.

"Oops, sorry," Shuu said, letting him down quickly. Shin didn't even bother to hide his snickers. Jun looked at the bearer of Kongo and, with a start, realized they were nearly the same height. Shuu was broad enough that he looked like he could throw a car (and quite possibly could), but Jun had matched him in height, if not in strength.

Looking so directly into his dark blue eyes gave Jun a pang of nostalgia ( _"Shuu-nii! Shuu-nii! You said you'd carry me!"_ ) "It's okay, Shuu-niichan," he said, "those bruises are badges of honor. They'll make sure I do really well on my high school entrance exam tomorrow!"

"What?" Shuu squawked, shoving Jun into a chair, and dusting flour off his half-apron. "You're taking the exams? Tomorrow? Why didn't you say so?"

"He just did," murmured Shin. Shuu ignored him.

"Don't worry Yamano-san! This meal is on the house. Jun, you'd better eat everything. I'm going to make sure that you're full up with brain food for those tests!" Shuu squeezed Jun's shoulder, waved at the Yamanos and rushed back into the kitchen.

Shin smiled his bright smile and ruffled Jun's hair. "You heard the man. Eat everything on your plate, Jun. No excuses. I expect you to come back and show us good scores."

"Not perfect scores?" Jun asked, wrinkling his nose.

Shin shrugged a shoulder up. "You're not Touma, you know." Shuu hollered Shin's name from the kitchen and he grinned again. "I need to go make sure that he doesn't use up everything in the kitchen making your banquet."

If Shuu didn't denude the kitchen, he certainly came close.

But it did what it was intended to do. Jun didn't get perfect scores (he wasn't Touma), but his scores made his parents proud.

And earned him another feast.

* * *

He was sixteen, and it was the middle of the District kendo competition. He watched his opponent from across the room. His coaches kept telling him to stop smiling at his opponent, that intimidation was an important edge to have. But Jun shrugged it off. He wasn’t easily intimidated by scowls himself, and it would distract him from centering himself if had to remember not to be pleasant to people. The other boy frowned and turned to check his equipment, so Jun internally shrugged and scanned the hall, gaze lingering on the people coming and going, the other competitors as they moved purposefully around the room, or settled into position to watch his match.

Jun pulled his _men_ on, stepping into the competition area. He should have looked at the referee beforehand, he should have noticed-- not noticing things got you killed, he remembered that much from his childhood-- because when he looked up at the assistant referee his breath caught and he nearly stumbled. “Seiji-niisan?”

No one else caught the murmur, but Seiji turned to look at him, his hearing sharp as ever. A jolt ran up Jun’s spine as he looked into those two bright eyes. Talk about intimidation! It looked like someone had been keeping Seiji’s bangs trimmed and the effect of both violet eyes pinning him down made Jun’s cheeks heat up. Seiji snorted, and Jun caught a quickly suppressed smile on his face. “Get into position, Yamano-san." Jun hurriedly bowed to Seiji, and stepped up to his spot.

He and his competitor eyed each other, sizing up opportunities. Usually this was when Jun felt most relaxed, letting himself slide into the unity of mind and body that would see him through each attempted strike. But the feeling of Seiji's eyes on him made his nerves sizzle-- could he really live up to a fighter who only missed out on the national championships because he'd been fighting to save Japan from a mystic warlord?

" _HAJIME_!" The chief referee called the beginning to the match and Jun tried to capture his usual meditative state, stepping forward for a hit. The other boy stepped out of range. Even though he forced himself into perfect position, Jun was sure that Seiji could feel the way his intent-to-strike was fraying. Kendo wasn't just about the hit, he reminded himself, staring at his opponent's _men_. It was about the energy and the intent in the hit.

Together, it felt like a dance-- back and forth, their shinai snapping in counterpoint to their rhythm. But Jun's steps kept faltering, wondering how Seiji was judging his movements, what it would be like to fight for real, beside one of his big brothers. His shinai flicked out, snapping down onto his opponent's _men_ , just as he felt the jolt of the other boy's shinai connecting with his wrist. They both paused, only a moment, waiting to see who got the point.

The chief referee's flag was Jun's color. The second assistant's was his opponent's color. Jun swallowed hard and Seiji's eyebrow quirked up. The flag he raised was for Jun's opponent. Jun caught Seiji's glance, and a sudden sigh escaped him, all of the twitchy energy and fear of being judged unworthy leaving him in a sharp breath.

Yeah. Now he could win.

* * *

At seventeen, it wasn't his first date by a long shot. Jun had been dating Maiko for months. Maybe not seriously, exactly, but they'd gone on walks and he'd taken her to a restaurant, and she'd given him chocolate on Valentine's Day, so that was enough to be called girlfriend and boyfriend, at least according to his friends at school.

Jun sat on a concrete bench, watching the people pass by. There were a couple of kids skateboarding and he grinned as they tried to outdo each other with tricks. He grinned, watching them-- he'd left his own at home, though. Not cool to take it with you when you're planning to take your girlfriend out to a cafe. He pulled out his phone, flipping it open to check the time. Ten minutes early.

He was about to lean back and people-watch when he heard the crowd around him start to gasp. His shoulders tensed, eyes darting. Don't move unless you have to was a lesson he'd never gotten rid of, even if the only monsters around now were the normal ones. The normal ones and...

"BYAKUEN!" The name burst from Jun's mouth unbidden, and he sprang to his feet, dashing through the clumps of people who had all stopped to stare at the man and his tiger. Byakuen looked smaller now, and so did Ryou-- but maybe that was because Jun was Ryou's height. If that was so, the hug that Jun swept Byakuen into must have looked a little odd. A gleeful, childish mania burst through Jun's stomach like stars and he looked up at Ryou from where he knelt, rubbing Byakuen's fluffy neck fur. "Ryou-kun," he said, a little more carefully. It was childhood height, and Jun could almost reach out and touch the youthful adoration he'd had for the wielder of Kikoutei. He swallowed hard.

Ryou's gaze, which had been serene-- uncaring of how the Tokyo masses reacted to his tiger-- brightened. "Jun! You look," he groped for words. He'd never been the most eloquent of them, Jun knew, though he'd dismissed it as an irrelevant flaw through the lens of his hero worship. "You look grown-up," Ryou said finally. He reached out, and Jun took his hands, standing so they were nose to nose.

"I'm only seventeen," Jun said, feeling like he was still eight. He wished he was wearing the Jewel of Life, but the spot where it lay when he last put it on felt warm. "That's not much older than you were when-- when we first met."

"Yeah, but you were just a squirt back then," Ryou said, tugging a hand away so he could gesture at the ground, as though Jun had only been a few inches high on that first meeting. "Now look at you! Shuu said you got into Hibiya High School and everything. How did you get so smart?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't from you," Jun said.

Ryou laughed and let go, swatting at Jun. "We've missed you."

Jun's shoulders hunched up a little. "I've missed you too, Ryou-n-- Ryou-kun. I've just been busy. If I let myself get distracted, I won't study enough!"

Petting Byakuen, Ryou gave him an indulgent look. "I know how much you hate studying. I don't want to distract you from that. Or your kendo practice. Seiji said the last time he saw you in competition, he thought you might be able to beat him!"

Jun couldn't remember seeing Seiji at the last competition, but his cheeks flared red at the compliment. "And you'll distract me from meeting up with my girlfriend if I let you, too," he accused. "So there." He stuck his tongue out.

Ryou stuck his tongue out back then reared back as Jun's words hit home. "Wait, girlfriend? You have a girlfriend? You're meeting with your girlfriend?" He glanced around, apparently looking for anyone that might look like Maiko. Seeing the frightened people for the first time, he laughed sheepishly. "Ahaha, maybe we should go so we don't scare her away, huh?"

Jun grinned and pet Byakuen one last time, savoring the feel of his fur as he butt his head against Jun's fingers. "If it lasts, I promise I'll introduce you to her."

As he watched Ryou and Byakuen pad away with surprisingly similar gaits, Jun promised to himself that he would make sure he saw Ryou more often too.

* * *

It wasn't a promise Jun could keep very often, with increasing studies to get into a good university, kendo competitions, friends and an acrimonious breakup to juggle. But he tried-- they all tried.

And when, in the end, he made it into Tokyo University (with a little coaching from Touma) and started training seriously in preparation for college kendo competitions (with no coaching at all from Seiji), he knew they were proud of him. He knew that because as he stepped up to take his diploma and bow to the principal, he caught all six of them -- Nasuti too, with a big grin on her face -- somehow sitting next to his parents in the audience. Shuu clearly wanted to cheer, but Shin's had a hand on his arm in restraint. Jun bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling like a child and took his diploma.

The ceremony was dull, but it was all worth it for the embrace Nasuti gave him in the end, and the warmth of family when the Troopers surrounded him in hugs and advice for the future.

**Author's Note:**

>  _chuunibyou_ : lit. middle school second year disease. A slang term used to describe middle schoolers with the delusion that they are more adult, have magical powers or are otherwise different than their peers in a specific way.  
>  _men_ : head and shoulder guard used in kendo. Also the term for a strike to the helmet.


End file.
